Toward A More Bountiful Harvest

Toward a More Bountiful Harvest 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 Cascades Fellowship CRC, JX MI April 3, 2004 For two or three years now, Rach and I have been trying to grow corn in our back yard. I don’t think we will try again this year because we have been seeing a steadily worse return for our labor. We decided this last year when the crop planted failed to produce even one ear of corn. But just because we are not planting corn again this year does not mean that I am willing just to let the matter go. No, it bothers me that we could not get even a marginal harvest out the seeds we sowed. So, I began doing a little research to find out what was going wrong. Now, what you have to understand is that when dealing with something I know nothing about – like growing crops, flowers, trees, etc. – when I say I researched some aspect of it that is code for I went to a friend who knows more about than I do and asked her what I should do. God has graced me with a circle of friends who have a wide range of skills and knowledge, and I do not take it for granted. So I went to this expert and asked her what in the world could be wrong. The plants grew well enough, got tall enough, even grew tassels – so why no ears. She took one look at my garden and said, “You didn’t plant enough.” Didn’t plant enough? My garden’s not that big! I couldn’t plant anymore than I did. Besides, what does the number of plants have to do with anything?

Well, it turns out that it has everything to do with how well corn will grow, because of pollination. The pollen from the plant falls on the tassel and out which then begins to form the ear of corn. Apparently, if you don’t sow enough plants, the pollen is not abundant enough to cause germination of the ears. Hence, a poor crop – at least, that’s how the theory goes. After doing some internet research, I found some varying opinions, but since I have trouble keeping plastic plants green, I’ll stick the original theory. The point is, in my own backyard vegetable garden I experienced the truth of what Paul is saying in our passage this morning. I sowed sparingly – thinking I was doing the right thing for the garden and a good harvest. I carefully plotted out my rows; I placed the seeds at precise intervals and reveled in my perfect ranks that sprouted within a few days. Everything looked in good and decent order – the plants were growing just as they should. But what looked like the right way to grow corn actually turned out to be a handicap for the corn itself. I sowed sparingly and so I reaped sparingly – and last year, not at all. One of the more difficult things to grasp in the faith is this principle of sowing generously. Paul states it as a principle for spiritual life – a marker of where we are spiritually. But what does it mean to sow generously and what can we expect to reap? To get to the bottom of how this principle apples to the Christian walk we will start by focusing on why Paul would write such a thing in the first place – that is, aside from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Then, we will talk about how we

live out that principle toward a more bountiful harvest in the church and in our lives. To really get what Paul is talking about in this passage, you have to go back to the beginning of chapter eight and read clean through to our passage this morning.

During Paul’s missionary journey, the church in Jerusalem was

suffering severe hardship. So as an act of unity in the body and in the spirit of the early church where members gave as each had need he began taking a collection among the Gentile churches. Such an act would show that the love of Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit does not fall along ethnic lines. The Corinthians, when they originally heard of the troubles of the church in Jerusalem about a year earlier had suggested that they might add to the collection, but had never completed the project. So now Paul is calling them to finish what they started – what they had purposed in their heart from the beginning. But remember, Paul’s relationship with the Corinthian church has been a bit rocky of late. And his critics have been saying that the collection Paul is taking is really for himself. So for Paul to simply say, “Yo! Cough it up!” would not have played very well. Even to suggest in a very forward manner that they might fulfill their “faith promise” may have led to trouble, so Paul, the consummate good parent, goes on and on about how he has boasted about the Corinthians and their development spiritually. gifted, how generous!

How gracious, how wise, how

Why? It is a form of teaching called paranaesis. Basically, you set a high standard for someone to live up to by boasting about them. Because you have built them up so much, they strive to live up to what you have said about them. A good friend of mine talks about how he really learned to ski. He was running his mouth one day and embellished a little on his skills of carving up the mountainside. He’d really never been off the intermediate hill, but he was caught in his own words now. Next thing he knew he was standing at the top of a double black-diamond hill – for you non-skiers that is real high and real steep. If you fall, you normally keep falling for some distance. At any rate, my friend found himself in the unenviable position of put up or shut up. Well, pride cometh before the fall, so you can guess what happened next. Amazingly, my friend survived and actually became a very good skier. So Paul teaches the Corinthians about the unity of the Body of Christ – a lesson they were having significant difficulty grasping – by talking them up to others and then saying, “C’mon!

You don’t want to embarrass me and

yourselves do you? Look, even those dirt poor Macedonians gave out of their poverty, though they could scarce afford it.” That’s the upshot of what comes before our passage this morning – what sets the stage for what Paul means when he speaks of sowing and reaping generously. There are a few parables in the Bible that I think every pastor wrestles with – they are just hard to understand. The point that Jesus was trying to make is

sometimes elusive. I am afraid that if I had been present when Jesus taught using parables, I would be among that group that nodded and smiled but had no clue about what he was teaching. I fear I would have been the crowd of whom Jesus spoke when he said, “… though hearing they do not understand, though seeing they do not perceive.” One of the real slippery ones is the parable of the shrewd land manager in Luke 16:1-14. I have read that parable, I don’t know how many times, and I still am a bit conflicted. Sometimes I think I have it nailed, but then…. Well, anyway, it continues to cause me some problems. I guess my biggest hang up is that Jesus uses a dishonest man to teach something about the Kingdom of God and Kingdom life. But as I prepared for this week a thunder bolt struck – in essence what was the shrewd manager doing? He was sowing seeds of good will. How? He was taking what had been entrusted to him – the property of the land owner – and he was using it to win friends and influence people. And what was he expecting to reap? Even greater good will among the people who owed his master something. By settling the bills owed to the landowner at a significant discount – what we would call pennies on the dollar today – the manager was making sure that doors would be open to him once he was fired. The principle in this parable is the same one that Paul was trying to get across to the Corinthians. In other words, Paul is telling the Corinthians, be

generous with what God has entrusted to and you will see the generosity of God toward those who honor him – not only with their voices but also their resources. So, what does Paul mean when he says sow generously? In essence, what is generosity? A second parable that I have always wondered about is the parable of the sower. Not that I have any trouble understanding that parable – after, Jesus himself explains it to the disciples, so it is hard to get the meaning wrong. But it is the picture that the parable paints of the sower. He is one sloppy guy! He’s got seed falling on the path, some getting tossed on ground not properly prepared, some among the weeds and thistles. Finally he gets some in the good soil and it multiplies like crazy. I’m always thinking to myself, “What is with this guy? Why isn’t he more careful with his seed? Just imagine if he got all that into the good soil!” While my questions seem to make sense, there is one huge problem. His grain multiplies and grows, mine doesn’t. Why? Because I’m afraid to put my seed out there and he isn’t. While I am skimping by, holding back my seed lest I lose it all, the sower in the parable is letting it fly! He is flinging it to every corner of the earth he can reach. The net result? He gets grain to eat and more seed for next year, I have no grain and a diminished seed supply. What does this tell us about generosity? Generosity, in this context, is flinging the seed God provides for you to every corner of the earth you pass by trusting God for two things – first, a harvest, a yield from your seed; second,

more seed to keep on sowing. Generosity is realizing that what you have, God has provided for you to sow so that you can reap a harvest of righteousness. God means for you to toss it around liberally. Now, I want to make a distinction here.

Note I did not say foolishly.

Liberally and foolishly are too different things, although they often times get confused in the church. Liberally means to use more than enough to ensure a good result. Foolishly means to use more than needed with no concern about the result. Giving liberally is to offer what you have freely, even sacrificially, with a willing heart. What Paul refers to as “cheerful giver.” Giving foolishly is to offer what you have hoping that it will take less than what you are offering, secretly resenting having to give at all. What Paul refers to as “giving reluctantly.” We are called to use what God has given us liberally. So what is the benefit of being a “cheerful giver?” If you look at v. 8 of our text, you will see that it says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” Notice how many times Paul squeezes the word “all” into that passage. “All grace,” “all things,” “all that you need,” and topped off with an “every good work.” The point that Paul is so subtly trying to get across is that God, who is the one who supplies us with the seed in the first place, will make sure that our supply never runs out. If we are faithful to sow liberally, he’ll see to it that we get a good return for our labor. So what are we talking about when we talk about sowing? Sow what?

Let’s return to the parable of the sower. What is the seed in this parable? The Word of God, in particular the Gospel – the truth about Jesus Christ. There are two ways in which we can sow the seed of God’s Word liberally. The first is in our own heart. The second is in the hearts of those around us. If you were to equate your heart with a field, what would be the status of the field? Is it ready for sowing – ready to receive the seed, to nurture it, so that it can spread out its roots and grow? Have you doused your life in prayer, asking God to open your eyes to the truth in the Scriptures and to teach your heart drink in its richness? If it is prepared, how much seed are you sowing? How many times a week are going to God’s Word? If Sunday is the only day you are getting seed sown into your heart, you getting way too little seed. You need more for a bountiful harvest. What about scattering seed in the hearts of others? Do you keep the story of Jesus’ death on the cross and his glorious resurrection seared into your mind so that you are able to give an account of the hope that is in you? Do you scatter the seed freely? Now, let’s also think about the context of the passage. Paul is writing about a collection for the poor – the giving of financial resources. The point, however, is not brow beat the Corinthians into giving money. The point is to teach them where to find their security – where to trust all their tomorrows to. If we trust more to money than to God, we will hold tightly on to the purse strings and sow sparingly. But if we trust God – enough to allow us to give liberally – we

sow generously and can expect to receive a return for our work. We can expect to see lives changed, hearts healed, and we can expect more seed. This doesn’t mean that if we give a thousand, God will give us ten-thousand back. It means that God will continue to meet our needs so that we are freed from the anxiety that prevents us from sowing generously in the first place. So It appears that our spiritual lives are a bit like the corn in my vegetable garden. Sow little, you reap little. Sow beyond what you need to ensure a good crop and reap accordingly. The question is, what kind of sower are you?